34 Students Join 2026 Matriculation of the Doctoral Programme in Development Studies

BANDAR LAMPUNG — Thirty-four new students of the 2026 intake of the Doctoral Programme in Development Studies (PDSP), FISIP Universitas Lampung, attended matriculation in the FISIP Unila Hall on Saturday, 15 August 2026. The day-long session, running from morning until late afternoon, featured two speakers: Prof. Dr. Syarief Makhya, M.Si., and the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Cooperation of FISIP Unila, Prof. Dr. Noverman Duadji, M.Si.

Matriculation is not an ordinary lecture. It is intended to align the basic understanding of participants from diverse backgrounds, some of whom came from outside Bandar Lampung, before they begin the core courses of their first semester.

In the first session, Prof. Syarief described development studies as an interdisciplinary field and explained the differences between undergraduate, master’s and doctoral study; the doctoral level, he said, emphasises theory building and novelty. He set out six minimum provisions for prospective doctors — philosophy of science, research methodology, command of the state of the art, scientific writing, information technology skills and ways of learning — and presented four theoretical frameworks of development.

The session also outlined the focus of the Unila doctoral programme: multicultural development, social development and development management. Several research areas in Lampung were identified as open for study, including multicultural communities, dryland, agriculture, transmigration, coastal areas, regional disparities and tourism.

The second session, delivered by Prof. Noverman, carried the theme “hard to get in, hard to get out”. He mapped the FISIP graduate structure, comprising four master’s programmes and one doctoral programme of about three years. Doctoral study proceeds through six stages: foundation courses, the qualifying examination, the proposal seminar, the results seminar, the closed examination and the doctoral promotion examination. Entry and exit standards are strictly maintained for quality, supported by the faculty through academic supervision, a research clinic, writing and publication assistance, partnerships and early intervention. A participant’s blog summed up the message of the session as “quality is safeguarded by standards, students are nurtured through mentoring”.

The matriculation closed with a group photograph with the programme’s management team in the hall, followed by an afternoon photo session in front of the FISIP landmark.

Classes begin on 22 August

Odd-semester classes for 2026/2027 began on Saturday, 22 August 2026, in Building A of FISIP Unila. Classes are held every Saturday over 16 meetings for two parallel classes, the Pepadun Class and the Saibatin Class. The first semester comprises five courses totalling 15 credits, running from 07.30 to 16.00.

This report is based on coverage in the Catatan Kuliah Blog (blog.unila.ac.id), written by a student of the 2026 intake, supplemented by schedule information from the study programme.